POLICE BLOTTER
Bainbridge Police reported the following incidents:
FEBRUARY 27
4 p.m. A witness told police that a Jeep motoring on Phelps Road near Yeti Lane swerved several times before veering off into a culvert. The Jeep continued up the culvert and onto an embankment which caused it to overturn. The driver, a Bainbridge woman, was trapped inside until fire personnel arrived and removed her. The woman was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center.
FEBRUARY 28
12:54 p.m. A High School Road resident reported that his mailbox and its supporting post had gone missing overnight. The resident said it appeared the pole had been yanked from the ground rather than driven over. No suspects.
MARCH 2
12:56 p.m. Cash totaling $165 was reported stolen from a purse left in an locker at the Aquatic Center. A woman told police she had left the purse along with a towel and clothing in a locker while she took a swim. She didn’t notice the cash missing until she went to pay for something at the counter. No suspects.
MARCH 4
9:11 a.m. Police contacted a High School Road resident suspected of dealing Oxcycontin. The resident allowed police to search his home. He told police that he did not deal drugs but that he had allowed visitors to his home to use drugs there. The man also said he was a recovering addict who sometimes smoked OxyContin and marijuana. Police confiscated a small bag of marijuana in the residence as well as a used bong. The man was not arrested, but a report was forwarded to prosecutors for possible charging.
8:53 p.m. Police were dispatched to Madison Avenue, where two men were reportedly in a fight. Police contacted a tow truck driver at the scene who was said he was under contract to repossess the other man’s Chevy Tahoe. The driver said he argued briefly with the vehicle’s owner before returning to his tow truck to await police. But as he sat in the truck, the other owner climbed through the passenger-side window and punched him in the side of the head. The driver said his foot slipped off the truck’s brake during the assault, causing the truck to run into the fender of a nearby Volvo. An officer interviewed the owner of the Chevy and noted that his hand was bleeding. The man said he had been cut in a recent chainsaw accident. A report was forwarded to prosecutors for possible charging.
MARCH 5
12:34 p.m. An iPod was reported stolen from an unlocked vehicle on Winslow Way. The owner of the vehicle said he accidentally left the vehicle unlocked while he left to shop for 15 minutes. The iPod was a black, 2-gigabyte model valued at $120. No suspects.
11:43 p.m. Police impounded an Oldsmobile Cierra found in a ditch on Blakely Avenue at Bucklin Hill Road. Judging by skid marks on the roadway, police deduced that the vehicle had been traveling south before attempting to turn west onto Bucklin Hill Road. It appeared the vehicle had skidded over a small curb before coming to rest in the ditch. The citizen who reported the vehicle said he had seen a young man wearing a baseball cap attempt to push the car out of the ditch. The owner could not be located. Gateway Towing took possession of the car.
3:20 p.m. A suspect was caught on security tape stealing gasoline from a High School Road station. Video provided to police showed a man with a baseball cap and red sweatshirt exit a maroon Ford F150 extended-cab truck and begin pumping gas. The man then got back into his vehicle without making any attempt to pay. The truck drove forward 10 feet then stopped.The man got out, a second time, walked back to look at the pump, then climbed back into the truck and drove away. The pilfered gasoline was totaled $50. Police were able to pull a partial license plate number from the video. The investigation continues.
MARCH 8
1:35 p.m. A row of mailboxes on Vincent Road fell victim to an erratic driver. Residents reported finding the mailboxes knocked down that morning. The roadway was icy at the time. No suspects.
3 p.m. An Eagle Harbor boat owner called 911 to report the theft of a teak tiller from his 34-foot sloop. The tiller was described as five feet long with a small bronze fitting on one end and a forked fitting on the other. The man said the entire boat was worth about $500 but replacing the tiller would cost $1,000. No suspects.
MARCH 9
12:03 p.m. An officer spotted an eight-foot, inflatable dinghy planing north across Eagle Harbor. The officer contacted its operator and reminded him of the No Wake Zone. The operator said he was rushing to make a ferry. He was issued a warning.
6:15 p.m. Police responded to Waterfront Park after a citizen reported an intoxicated male attempting to depart the dock in an inflatable dinghy. When officers arrived, the man had untied the boat and started its outboard. An officer requested that he exit the boat, which he did after some difficulty retying it to the dock. The mariner staggered somewhat as he was escorted to the head of the pier. When asked if he would agree to voluntary field sobriety tests the man asked the officer, “What does this instill?” He eventually agreed to the tests and slurred his way through several oral excercises. While attempting an eye tracking test, the man listed so heavily that the officer became concerned he would fall. The man was arrested for operating a boat under the influence of alcohol. During booking, the man said he would contest the charge because he was tied to the dock when officers arrived. The officer reminded him that he had actually been untied and preparing to make way. “Well, the engine wasn’t running,” the man replied. He refused a breath test but asked the officer to estimate what it would have registered. The officer told him that he would probably have cleared 0.10 blood alochol content. The man was booked and given a ride home by land.
